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 Natural
Cycle: Bio-Based Products
Technical
Cycle: Reducing the Use of Petroleum-Based Materials
We'd like to get to the point where we never take another drop of oil
from the earth by utilizing the natural cycle and redesigning processes and
products to close the technical loop. Our aim is to create cyclical systems in
which the waste from one process or product is "food" for another, preserving
the natural, living systems of our Earth.
Our current targets:
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Reduce the use of petroleum-based raw materials.
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Use recovered materials or natural materials as "feedstock" for manufacturing.
As we move towards this goal, we are reducing our use of virgin raw materials
and working to get the most value from the materials we employ. Following are
some of the advancements we've made in the Natural Cycle and the Technical
Cycle.
Natural Cycle: Bio-Based Products
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We were the first carpet manufacturer to use fibers made from polylactic acid
(PLA), a commercially viable plastic made from corn.
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InterfaceFLOR Hybrid, a nylon/bio-based blend, is currently being used in
the face cloth of select products.
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We are testing the potential to include PLA in our product backing.
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Cool BlueTM, our new backing system, will allow us to test other
renewable resources, moving us further away from virgin materials.
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Technical Cycle: Reducing the Use of Petroleum-Based
Materials
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Using highly flexible, next generation thermoplastic technology, our Cool Blue
backing system lets us explore more raw material options for producing carpet,
including current waste streams, renewable resources and undiscovered
materials.
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Cool Blue helps maintain material integrity so that materials are not degraded
during manufacturing and spun out of the technical loop.
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InterfaceFLOR pioneered one of the industry's most aggressive, responsible
and successful carpet recycling programs,
ReEntry® 2.0. Through ReEntry 2.0 and a partnership with our fiber suppliers, we recycle type 6,6 nylon into new type 6,6 nylon. Our own GlasBac backing (pre-consumer/post-industrial and post-consumer) and similar competitor backings are recycled through our Cool Blue™ backing technology. And, we’ll take back all carpet — broadloom and carpet tile — regardless of fiber or backing type.
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TacTiles®
- Our Next Generation Installation System - is easily recycled through ReEntry 2.0.
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Cool Blue GlasBacRE
products contain a minimum of 62% total recycled content with a minimum of 30% post-consumer recycled content. Our GlasBac products produced in LaGrange, Ga., contain an average of 40% post-industrial recycled content.
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InterfaceFLOR has earned SCAS Gold/EPP for GlasBac™ products and SCAS Platinum/Epp and California Gold for GlasBac RE products.
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We replaced virgin limestone in our GlasBac and GlasBac RE backings with
post-industrial recovered aluminosilicate glass (ASG), or fly ash.
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